Jumping Off Cliffs and Almost Dodging Bullets
by the-science-of-corruption
Summary: Kaoru gets shot at, and guess who takes the bullet for her! Right! None other than our favorite redheaded swordsman! Find out what happens to Kenshin!  Oneshot, with room for and extra chapter! Please read and review!


**'Kay, everyone! Here's my first RuroKen fic. It's pretty bad, but I didn't have much material to work with. It's technically an oneshot, but if I get another plot otter, I type it up for y'all.**

**Disclaimer. I just checked in the mirror. I'm still not Watsuki-sensei.**

It was speeding straight towards my heart. Even from far away, I could read the bullet's path. In less than a nanosecond, I figured out that there was nowhere to run. Even though it was a slow speed gun, by the time I could've ducked it would be in my head. If I went to one side, it would hit my shoulder, where I already had a really bad wound, bandaged and healing. I couldn't even blink.

It seemed to approach in slow-motion. My heart slammed wildly in my chest, as if it could fill a lifetime's beating into a few seconds. I was frozen in the face of death.

Which is why I was so very surprised to find myself tumbling down the cliff I had been standing next to, seconds earlier. Apparently, Kenshin had jumped on me and rolled us off the cliff. He had been standing next to me, his sword sheathed and his back turned. We had been watching the sunset. Kenshin had heard something, so we had stood up and looked around. That's when I saw someone jump out of the bushes and fire a gun at me. Kenshin had heard the gunshot and whirled me out of the way.

My head was tucked into Kenshin's chest, and his hands pressed me to his body. The cliff wasn't steep, but there were rocks and trees and stuff all the way down. I could've been seriously hurt by all the debris, but Kenshin wrapped himself so thoroughly around my body that I was completely unscathed. Instead, he was getting mauled by the rocks and such. I could smell blood. Was it his or mine?

Suddenly, I felt a sharp, painful impact on my head, and I blacked out.

White.

Hmmmm, how very strange. It was night when I fell off the cliff.

CLIFF!

KENSHIN!

I sat bolt upright, only vaguely aware of the throbbing in my head. I looked around. Apparently, I was in a large room, with screens around my bed. It looked like a doctor's clinic, like the one Megumi-san worked at. Where was Kenshin?

"Kenshin?" I asked the room uncertainly.

"Oh, so that's his name!" came a voice from behind the curtain (A/N: Wizard of Oz!). I shrieked. The voice laughed, a laugh like a soft bell, and a bespectacled man in a white coat came around the curtain. I pulled the hospital's bedcovers to my chest.

"Who're you?" I gave him a suspicious look.

"Dr. Sukē. This is my clinic. Who're you?" The doctor had kind blue eyes, but they were edged with curiosity.

"Kamiya Kaoru. How did I get here?" I dropped the sheet back in my lap.

"It's a funny story. This young man, - Kenshin, you said? - came in this morning carrying you. Though you were unconscious, I was more concerned about his health. He had heavy blood loss and was on the verge of fainting. Plus, he had a bullet in his shoulder!"

**He took the bullet?**

**What! **

So _that's_ were all the blood came from! Oh my gosh, that's terrible!

"Where is he?" I leapt up on my knees and grabbed his coat.

"Over there," he said calmly and pointed to another screened-in bed. I jumped out of bed and rushed to his side.

Kenshin lay on the bed, unconscious. He had bandages all over him, most of them stained with blood. Unconcealed bruises and little cuts were peppered across his body. His dōgi lay crumpled on a small table next to him, also tainted red. His shoulder was wrapped thickly with cloth bandages.

I covered my mouth with my hands. It was all too horrible.

"He looks like he fell off a cliff!" The doctor frowned.

"Yeah," I breathed.

Thankfully, his chest was still moving steadily up and down. His legs were hidden by the blanket.

"Anyway, he wouldn't tell me anything, he just insisted that I treat you first. But once you were safely in bed, he collapsed on the floor. His cuts and bruises are only minor, and his shoulder will heal up nicely," he added the last sentence after seeing the worried look on my face.

Once I was satisfied that Kenshin was going to be okay, the doctor escorted me back to my bed. He talked a bit about minor concussions, and told me to take it easy for the next few days.

Since Kenshin was still asleep, Dr. Sukē explained the pills he was to take to me, since Kenshin was 'boarding' at my house (Well, what would YOU have said? We lived together!).

The next day, the doctor told me I was allowed to go home now, and set up and appointment with me to come in next week.

"Thank you so much, Doctor." I bowed to him. "Do you mind if I stay here until Kenshin wakes up? I'll go home then come back with payment, then stay the night if necessary."

"Of course," said the good doctor. He walked out to his living quarters.

I walked over to Kenshin's side. He looked so peaceful, but it was marred by the bandages that covered his torso. I brushed some hair off his face and sighed. Picking up his blood-stained dōgi, I headed off towards the door.

About 1 ½ hours later, I walked back into the clinic's screened bedroom. Balanced in my hands were Kenshin's now-clean clothes and a book. Kenshin was still out cold. Sighing in disappointment, I pulled a chair next to his bed and opened the book. Absently I placed my hand on Kenshin's chest. I settled in for the long haul.

It was quite calming and peaceful in the clinic. There were no other patients and I was immersed in my book.

Thirty minutes passed, then an hour. The book was intriguing. At some rather frightening parts I would clench my fist on Kenshin's chest, and then relax it when things got better. His breathing stayed consistent. In and out, up and down. His skin was very smooth, his muscles tight from years of sword practice. I flipped page after page.

Suddenly I noticed my hand was significantly warmer than usual. Odd. I looked up from my book.

Kenshin's head was turned toward me, his violet eyes open and calm. His hand clutched mine, both resting on his chest.

"K-Kenshin!" I stammered. My eyes nervously fixed on out intertwined hands, then on his bare chest. I stood up and tried to take my hand away gently, but Kenshin held on tight. My face turned an involuntary shade of red.

"Hello, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin said softly. "How long has this one been unconscious?"

"About two days." I sat gingerly back on my chair and placed my book next to Kenshin's dōgi. "I washed your clothes for you. They were covered in blood." Abruptly tears filled my eyes, but I swallowed them back down.

"Thank you, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin let go of my hand. He smiled at me. His warm smile, touched with a speck of sadness, made my heart swell in my chest.

"It's really me who should be thanking you, Kenshin."

"Why do you say that, Kaoru-dono?"

"You saved my life by jumping off a cliff! Surely you remember!"

"You give this one too much credit. This one not dead, is he?"

I folded my arms across my chest. "You were unconscious for almost 36 hours. You're covered in bruises and cuts, and you had a bullet in your shoulder, Kenshin!"

"You are safe, Kaoru-dono, and that is what is important. This one is alright."

"Having a bullet in your shoulder is _not _'alright'!"

"It could not be helped. Next time this one will be better prepared."

"Kenshin, I don't want there to _be _a 'next time'! You almost died! How could I ever make it up to you?" I cried, exasperated.

"Kaoru-dono, calm yourself. It is doing no one any good for you to get overexcited. And it is this one's fault that we had to fall down the cliff. You are not hurt, are you, Kaoru-dono?"

I look at the floor, no wanting to meet his eyes. "I'm… fine…"

Kenshin sat up so quickly I couldn't believe it. "Kaoru-dono, what happened to you?"

"N-nothing." I stared at the floor.

Kenshin took both my hands, forcing me to look him in the eyes. "Kaoru, what happened to you?" he said again, a touch more force in his voice.

"I, um, I only got a small concussion," I confessed quietly, "I'm fine, really,"

Kenshin's face fell. He looked like the world had depended on him and he had failed. He dropped my hands.

"Kaoru-dono, this one is so sorry. This one has failed to protect you, again."

I grabbed his shoulders and shook them. "Himura Kenshin, you're crazy! Every single cut and bruise on your body is a reminder that you saved me. If it wasn't for you, I would be dead now. You got shot, not me. Would you please stop acting like you didn't save my life? You did, no matter how much you deny it. This isn't even the first time, nor, I don't doubt, will it be the last. If you say your job is to protect me, then I say you did a bang-up job, literally. Now would it please you to put on your dōgi so we can get out of here?"

Kenshin raised his head. Unexpectedly, he smiled.

"Okay, Kaoru," I nodded, satisfied, and left Kenshin to change behind the screens.

**So? What do you think? Review! It makes me feel nice! It can be your random act of kindness today!**


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